HANOI – Imperial Citadel (Hoàng Thành Thăng Long)

Any tour operator will tell you that the must-see objects in Hanoi are Hoàn Kiếm lake with its Ngoc Son Temple and Turtle Tower; the Temple of Literature; Hi Chi Minh's mausoleum and museum; the One Pillar Pagoda; and the old town. What is too often left off the list is the Imperial Citadel and adjacent archaeological site where more foundations of the remaining structures of the ancient Imperial City are systematically being excavated.

The Imperial Citadel was listed, in 2010, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, although many question the reason for the listing. One of the reason cited is that it was UNESCO's "gift" to Hanoi on its 1000^th anniversary… maybe. The site is, it cannot be denied, a bit empty of ancient imperial structures. What one sees are buildings of non-imperial origin (built during the colonial days), but that hardly diminishes the attraction of a leisurely walk exploring the WHS. It is moreover within easy walking distance (30-40 minutes) of Hoàn Kiếm lake.

The Vietnamese pronunciation of Hoàng Thành is nowhere near the one vocalised by a foreign tongue, and the taxi driver consequently put me down at the nearest spot to the Citadel I could think of and convey across the language barrier: the Lenin statue—when splitting the name into its distinctive components it becomes Vietnamese, almost.

Flag Tower

The entrance appeared to be across the road from Lenin and after paying 40,000 dong for my ticket I found myself in the Vietnam Military History Museum—a jumbled up collection of equipment used to oust the French and the Americans, including a crashed US fighter plane and a few antique canons. The Hanoi landmark, the Flag Tower, is located on the grounds of the museum, and through the back-fence I could see the South Gate, the most prominent part of the Citadel. But to get there I had to leave the museum and turn right twice. Got it!

Hoang Thanh Thang Long (Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the old name of Hanoi) was built in the first decade of the 11^th century, on the ruins of a Chinese fortress. Many buildings of the original citadel were, during the following centuries, demolished and rebuilt, lay-outs were changed as well as building styles. And at the end of the 19^th century, the French colonial upheavals led to a final round of destruction. The Flag Pole was spared, together with the South Gate, the number one attraction.

south gate

dragon steps

Of the Kinh Thien Palace—built in 1428 and destroyed by the French in 1886—only the Dragon Steps and the foundations remain. The Dragon Palace, built by the French to house their Artillery Headquarters, now occupies the place. But, due to a lack of explanatory panels, it is not really clear which one is what. There are references on various websites to a Princess Pagoda (French: Pagode des Dames) and on site there even a panel with a reproduced postcard of its portal, but no structure like the one depicted can be seen anywhere. However, when googled, Princess Pagoda apparently is a building, very much obscured by trees, at the far end of the site.

Gateway to- and Pagode des Dames

The North Gate is apparently located somewhere behind the Princess Pagoda…, unfortunately a wall obstructs further progress and I was thus unable to make visual contact.

The Vietnamese military command under General Giap, had its headquarters in a building called D67, which is located in the Citadel and now open to the public. 

A photo display includes this newspaper cutting of its erstwhile proceedings. 

D67 in action

The Citadel is much larger than the part accessible to the public. Adjacent to it and across the street archaeological excavations are slowly uncovering the foundations and more remains of the old fortress. Not much to see there as this type of excavations consists mainly of carefully scraping and brushing layers of earth away. But the whole site could do with an explanatory map indicating the various buildings and other items on show—a huge bronze bell is, for instance, displayed without a word in English about its origin or function. The map could then be overlaid with an outline of the original Citadel and the findings from the excavations.

The Citadel is, however, a worthwhile object to visit and enjoy an hour or so of pleasant viewing.